The Washington County commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday to create a board to allocate national opioid settlement funds.
Appointed to the Opioid Stellment Board on Thursday were Dr. John Tamiggi, Dan Buzard, Teresa Cypher, Ed Zelich, Amy Podgurski-Gough, Aliesha Walz and Joe Glover.
“I am glad that Washington County is taking steps to make the process more transparent so that the people of Washington County will know what’s going on with the opioid settlement funds,” Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi said in a release. “I advocated for the formation of an opioid settlement board because I thought the recipients should be vetted by a committee instead of leaving those decisions to just a few folks in county government. This is important because the funds need to go to organizations that will best serve our community.”
Washington County is part of a national class-action lawsuit against major drug companies that yielded more than $50 billion. County officials say their allocated funds were “intended solely to combat the opioid epidemic.”
However, Maggi has been calling for transparency in the local allocation process since last year, after “$4.7 million in funds were distributed without the input of the community,” the release says.
Maggi urges the new Opioid Stellment Board to create guidelines, publicize the process and support qualified organizations to apply, while ensuring fair and equitable judgment.
“Transparency must be the focus of this process,” Maggi said. “We are the custodians of these funds that are to be used to fight the opioid epidemic. It is our responsibility to ensure they are used properly, strategically, and in the best interest of the people of Washington County.”
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